Adding more sidewalks, strengthening the retail base, increasing the number of storefront windows, and activating streets all contribute to success.
(Boonton, NJ, December 17, 2015) — In response to more than three decades of population loss and commercial decline, the city of Birmingham, MI, committed to building a new identity as "The Walkable Community."
A long-range vision, along with traffic-calming measures, ordinance changes, and more over the past two decades has seen the downtown’s Walk Score reach 92, a "walker’s paradise."
"We did a downtown master plan in 1996," says Jana Ecker, planning director for the city. "In that plan, one of the biggest pushes was on highlighting our urban shopping district."
Rather than competing with the malls, the city enhanced what was already good about the downtown by making it more walkable, adding more sidewalks, strengthening the retail base, increasing the number of storefront windows, and activating the streets with outdoor dining and special events.
"If you want a walkable downtown, you can’t take up an entire block with parking, so we put retail stores along the first floor," says Ecker. One example is the 12-screen movie theater downtown. "Its entrance is on the street, but that whole building is lined with restaurants and retail, with the movie theaters tucked in back so that you still have a big, functioning, stadium-sized movie theater, but on the street, it just feels like a regular retail street."
Details on Birmingham’s transformation appear in the December issue of Downtown Idea Exchange.
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About the Downtown Research & Development Center
For over 50 years, the Downtown Research & Development Center has acted as the information clearinghouse on practical strategies and tactics for revitalizing the hearts of our cities and towns.
The Group\'s main activities include publishing the widely influential Downtown Idea Exchange and Downtown Promotion Reporter newsletters; publishing relevant books and reports; and operating the DowntownDevelopment.com website.
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